The Ukrainian army claimed this morning to have recaptured the village of Andriivka, ten kilometers south of the destroyed city of Bakhmut, on the eastern front, in one of the axes of the counter-offensive against the Russian invasion.
“The armed forces had partial success in the Klichchiivka area during offensive operations,” the Ukrainian General Staff saidin the daily report published on the social network Facebook.
“During the attack they liberated Andriivka in the Donetsk region [e] have inflicted significant losses on the enemy in terms of personnel and equipment,” he added.
On Thursday, Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Ganna Maliar had written on the messaging platform Telegram: “Andriivka is ours.” A message that was later amended after the Ukrainian strike unit on the ground was denied.
“The statement about Andriivka’s capture is false and premature. Serious and intense fighting is currently taking place in the Klichtchiivka and Andriivka areas,” the Third Assault Brigade of the Ukrainian Army said in Telegram.
“Such statements are harmful, endanger the lives of personnel and harm the execution of combat missions,” the brigade warned.
Bakhmut, located in Donetsk province, has been one of the main points of contention between Kiev forces and Moscow forces in recent months.
Russia, which invaded Ukraine in February last year, claimed control of Bakhmut in May following the presence of Wagner group mercenaries there. After abandoning their positions, these elements transferred operational command to Russian forces.
The Ukrainian army has been leading a counter-offensive since early June, aiming to repel Russian forces in the east and south, but is confronted with powerful defense lines consisting of trenches, minefields and anti-tank traps.
Ukrainian pressure has increased in recent weeks, especially on the southern front, with the capture of the village of Robotyne, towards the city of Tokmak, a key logistics point for the Russian forces.
Kiev has also sought to disrupt Russian lines of communication after using naval, air missiles and drones in recent weeks to attack Russian bases in Crimea and warships in the Russian fleet near the coast of that occupied peninsula.
Ukraine on Thursday claimed the destruction of a Russian air defense system worth 1.1 billion euros in Crimea, on the second day of successive missile and drone attacks on the peninsula annexed by Russia in 2014.
In his daily address to the nation on Thursday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy congratulated the military intelligence, SBU and navy on the attack, describing the operation’s success as “very important.”
Source: DN
